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Tumblers, Berry's or lymans

johnny-bravo

johnny-bravo

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 26, 2012
238
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waverly WV
Looking to get a tumbler, I have been picking up reloading equipment and its time for a cleaner so I have been doing all the research I can and most people suggest get the biggest your budget will allow. I have basically narrowed down what im looking for and it has came down to these two, Berry's (also Cabela's 400) or the lyman 2500. I know that there are many others out there but these 2 seem to have good benefits, Berry's is in many threads with its unrivaled reliability and its low price point, the lyman has its girth and ability to do many cases in just one session. Now im looking for input on these 2 from others that use them, I know many will say "DILLON" or "thumblers tumbler", but Im really looking for those, I would almost go the Dillon rout but I see a lot of people saying that they had to return them because of burnt up motors which Dillon didnt warrant because it was past the year warranty on the motor (costing them $70 for new motor), the dillon is like $210 for the CV-2001.... no thanks, I dont want the rock polisher (thumblers) either.
I like how the Berrys has the center lid rod protected by the center bowl being a cone upward shape (around it) so the cases are not constantly slamming into the steel rod. But I like the lyman because of its size just wonder which has a better motor?
 
I've got two. One is the Thumblers vibratory cleaner and it was pricey. Does a fine job however the first one I purchased was the Frankfort Arsenal from Midway. Works great but my son had to re-wire the motor once. It does as good of job as my Thumblers but, like I said, the motor had to be re-wired to keep it running. No experience with the ones you mentioned.
 
I've tumbled thousands of cases in a Berry's from Cabelas. Lifetime warranty; if it craps the bed, take it back for a new one...
 
I use the Lyman and it works real good. I cannot compare it to others cuz this the only one I have used.
 
I liked the Lyman 2500 so much I bought a 2nd one. I still have a 1200 from when I first started reloading over 20 years ago.
 
Well, the Berry's has the best warranty out of the two
http://www.berrysmfg.com/product-i14546-c47-g8-b0-p0-400_Tumbler.aspx
"Quiet operation, Large 4 qt bowl, Clear Lid, In-line on/off switch, Lg easy-grip knob. The best deal on the market! Limited lifetime warranty means lifetime on the plastic, 3 years on the motor. Warranty is void if unit is used for anything besides tumbling metallic cartridges with dry media."

Lymans not as good with only a year
http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/contact/warranty-policy.php
"Your Lyman Product has been produced under rigid standards of manufacture and inspection. However, if your Lyman product is found to be defective in material or workmanship within one year of delivery to the first retail purchaser, we will repair or replace it without charge."

but thats only if you ever need to warranty it......right? lol
I hate trying to decide on these things, as soon as I order ill see/read something and wanna chang my mind. I dont really need the bigger Lyman.... for now but may in the future. I guess my biggest concern would be the motor, which one has the better motor or cooler running one, I do like the Berrys has a switch but I can add one of those whenever i want.
Mike said:
I've used the Lyman's for years and no problems.
Click to expand...
Mike, which model?
 
Last edited:
Mike said:
http://www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/tumblers/2500-tumbler.php
Click to expand...

YUP, thats the one ive been eying, does it do OK with a half or quarter load?
Reason I ask is because they actually state you should use a tumbler suited for the full amout of brass your going to tumble as its most efficient FULL.
first question answer in their FAQ's

"Q: What size tumbler should I purchase?
A: Select the tumbler according to the number of cases you will be tumbling each time. The tumbler will run much better and efficiently when always used at maximum capacity."

as stated im just starting out but have many different calibers and brass to reload so would this operate on a not so full load?
Thanks
 
Well I have 1,850 .223 I gotta clean, 300 at a time would probably speed things up quite a bit.
Does your motor seem plenty strong? They also make it in the 220 version but thats too much of a pita to deal with, all my welders are 220 and I only have one dedicated outlet to share.
 
I don't have experience with Barry's or Lymans but I have the Thumbler's vibratory UV 18 tumbler. As mentioned, it's expensive but it's also really quiet. I chose this tumbler because of all the good reviews I've read
 
Thanks for all the input, i have a green Berry's on the way from Cabela's, I just cant get ovet their warranty, thats what sold me. I would think other companies would use this as a selling point but i guess not.
So best for cleaning is walnut, then corncob for polish? Whats the best deal, read iguana bedding from tractor supply for the walnut, found corncob @ walmart for cheap as well.
 
My first Lyman lasted for 10 years until it died. So I bought another one and it only made it 18 months. I went ahead and bought another Lyman and sent the last one back and I am hoping they replace the motor. There is a lot of talk about Lyman motors overheating on various reloading forums lately
 
The Berry's says it will do 450- .223, that should be enough for me right now. The motor on the Berry's 400 has a 3 year warrant as long as you have proof of purchase. The rest of the unit is lifetime and made in USA :), I believe most others are the same way. One thread I found the rep. from Berry's was commenting on others post about it being a POS, he explained he believes its as good as the Dillon, he used to work for Dillon and said even their motors were from Japan and the berrys unit was from china. He also mentioned they looked into getting USA made motors but it would have driven the cost up above their budget minded low cost goal. I wonder where that motor he was talking about is from (company/MFG) I would almost wanna look into it. I think that thread was on a forum called the high road?
ok found it
"I'm not suggesting that you should buy Berry's but I do suggest you try to buy a product that is built here. We had to buy a chinese motor and cord due to the fact that the only American made c-frame motor costs three times as much and would put the product price around $90, but everything else is made by us in Utah. I do take exception to a reference that our tumbler is a POS, I've been in the business for a long time and worked for Dillon and others and I don't agree with the statement."-Berry's MFG
located here http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-582584.html
 
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